#biocode

Circuitry -

It means more to Intelligent Cybernetic Entities than just a pathway for electricity.

We asked Dawn Field, author of Biocode, just what she means when she says ‘DNA is everywhere’. Today, we discussed what’s in a walnut.

“Would you be surprised to learn that there is DNA in walnuts? You shouldn’t be. Walnuts, like all nuts are the way nut trees propagate. Nuts, like seeds, grains, and beans all carry the DNA required to create the next generation of plants.

California scientists have just sequenced the walnut genome. The ‘blueprint’ of the popular Chandler walnut will be used to drive breeding decisions. Genomic information aids researchers breed trees that are drought tolerant or resistant to diseases and insects. Amazingly, each walnut tree is not one, but two different genomes working in harmony. As is common for commercially grown fruit and nut trees, the Chandler variety is a graft. Different rootstocks are used to maximize yield under different environmental conditions. Efforts to sequence rootstock genomes are in the pipeline.”

We asked Dawn Field, author of Biocode, just what she means when she says ‘DNA is everywhere’. Today, we talked about the DNA you find in the food you eat:

“There's DNA in your food. Lots of it. All living things have DNA and humans are designed to eat other life. Therefore, we all eat DNA all day everyday – if you have a healthy, fresh-food diet, that is.

Chickpeas are a superfood. Packed with nutrition, low in fat and high in protein, they are a staple crop across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas, which are the primary ingredient in falafel, and chickpeas are the primary vegetarian dish in India.

Researchers in India have sequenced the genome of not only 1 kind of chickpea, but 3000. Chickpeas are susceptible to climate change and pests. The 3000 Chickpea genome project aims to catalogue the slight changes in DNA that are responsible for local adaptations and pest resistance. Decoding the DNA of domesticated and wild species might lead to the ability to increase crop yields in the future, even in the face of climate change.”

Have you let your dog leave his or her DNA behind?

We asked Dawn Field, author of Biocode, how DNA identification can lead to fines for pet owners in gated communities.

“Is your dog well-behaved? More to the point, are you? There is now a fool-proof way to check up on how well you clean up after your pet. It’s the mainstay of CSI crime labs - DNA identification. With just a smidgeon of evidence (what you failed to scoop), investigators can call out your dog. Owners can be slapped with fines or worse - shamed publicly. The only catch is that your dog’s DNA must already be in the pet registry. This is why the application of this form of DNA-testing technology was birthed in gated communities - first in the US and now in Europe as well. Submission of a DNA sample becomes requisite for owning a dog under new membership rules. A rogue visitor might leave an unwanted gift on the shared lawn and escape without penalty, but any dog living in the compound beware. Companies are spawning to offer the service and it is catching on fast as a safe, economic way to keep the grass clean, safe and sweet-smelling. What goes for dogs goes for humans. Hong Kong is in the news for using DNA testing to shame litterbugs. Leave trash about with your DNA - say an empty can, a used tissue, a piece of gum, or a cigarette butt - and your face might appear on a bus stop. That approach to clean-living will certainly spread as well.”

Dawn Field, author of Biocode, explains how Iceland produced the first ever ‘national genome’:

“The island of Iceland is famous for its beauty, geothermal activity, whale watching and the Aurora Borealis, among other wonders of nature. Along with the beloved blue lagoon, it is now famous for having produced the first ‘national genome’. Researchers have been working towards this goal since 1996 when Dr. Stefansson founded a company called Decode to study the genetics of his country. Iceland has a population of around 325k people living in an area of 103,000 km², making it not only one of the most breathtaking places on earth but also the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Peopled by less than 20,000 people from neighbouring regions of Scandinavia, Ireland, and Scotland only 1,100 years ago its isolated population also boasts impressive historical genealogical records complemented by extraordinary modern health records.

In a set of groundbreaking research papers published in the world’s top journal Nature, Decode researchers report findings from completion of genomes of 2,636 Icelanders. More importantly, these core genomes were used to ‘impute’ the genomes of another 100,000 closely related individuals producing a genomic map of  almost 1/3 of the county’s population. Among the many findings are new insights into rare mutations and the largest survey to date of ‘lost genes’. Almost 8 % of Icelandic genomes lack a working version of at least one gene and a total of 1,171 ‘knockout’ genes could be identified. Other ‘national genome’ projects are now underway – from the Dutch genome project to the Korean genome project.”